# The seven deadly sins re-pondered in a secular fashion **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 27, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145 "2002-06-27T01:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145/1 "2002-06-27T01:28:43Z")
Seven was re-run late at night on my cable system and now I find myself once again pondering the 7 Deadly Sins in a secular / non-religious way.[ol][li]Anger(Wrath)[_]Envy[_]Gluttony[_]Greed[_]Lust[_]Sloth[_]Vanity(Pride)[/ol][/li]**Which sin(s) do you consider the worst?** I nominate envy; mainly because it seems to have the most poisonous affect on personal relationships. **Which one(s) are you most guilty of?** Lust and Vanity; which I rationalize away as being the 2 least deadly amongst the original 7. **If you had your way, would you completely update, overhaul or dispose of the list?** I guess a little contemporary updating wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Maybe something along the lines of Gandhi’s list[ul][_]Wealth without Work[_]Pleasure without Conscience[_]Science without Humanity[_]Knowledge without Character[_]Politics without Principle[_]Commerce without Morality[_]Worship without Sacrifice[_]Sex with kissing[/ul]Which is far superior to Alastair Crowley’s “Do what thou wilt” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145/2 "2002-06-27T01:45:24Z")
Which sin(s) do you consider the worst? Sloth Which one(s) are you most guilty of? Anger, vanity & gluttony. I lust a lot, but I’m afraid I often don’t capitalize on my sin. If you had your way, would you completely update, overhaul or dispose of the list? I generally don’t think too much about what the preachers consider to be sin. Ghandi’s pleasure without conscience about sums my approach to life. ---
**Author:** ![mandielise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mandielise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mandielise)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145/3 "2002-06-27T02:02:22Z")
Well, I like your updated list much better than the original… with the exception of Sex with kissing. What’s wrong with that? I would see sex WITHOUT kissing as bad… but not a sin. Of the original 7, greed would be the worst sin to me, and I’m most guilty of lust (pretty odd to hear from a girl, huh?). ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145/4 "2002-06-27T02:22:37Z")
**Which sin(s) do you consider the worst?** I would agree with Envy being the worst mainly because it can lead to all the other sins. eg I am envious of my neighbours big car, which causes anger that they have better stuff than me. **Which one(s) are you most guilty of?** Sloth & Vanity (with lust thrown in occasionally) **If you had your way, would you completely update, overhaul or dispose of the list?** Maybe the terms would change but essentially I’d say the list still covers your basic sins. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-seven-deadly-sins-re-pondered-in-a-secular-fashion/116145/5 "2002-06-27T04:16:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mandielise \* > …I’m most guilty of lust (pretty odd to hear from a girl, huh?). Not at all. So, how YOU doin’? 😃 There’s definitely something to be said for the original list–it’s a good idea to avoid excess in any of them, certainly (though the definition of excess may vary). Of them all, I think greed and pride (arrogance) do the most harm, so I’d call them the worst. Envy is a poisonous emotion, but its effects are usually more limited in scope. I’m most prone to lust. Gluttony is a distant second. When I was much younger, wrath would have been in first place, but fortunately I grew out of that. As for reworking the list…I prefer the Wiccan Rede “_An thou harm none_, do as thou wilt.” You will note that this is very different from Creepy-Crowley’s rule, I trust. IMHO, sin lies chiefly in harming others; the list of deadly sins is relevant because the traits/attitudes/actions on the list, when taken to excess, can lead you to harm others. That harm could be physical or emotional–it’s still harm.